If counties of England were ranked 1 to 100 in terms of affluence, schools, quality of life etc, Surrey would be in the top 5.

Woking (and Guildford and Weybridge etc) are just the optimum distance (25 miles) from London to allow fast commuting into well-paid jobs and still get back to the beautiful leafy countryside at night and weekends.

Public transport is good but everyone drives 4x4s (SUVs). :-) Expect to pay an arm and two legs for a place to stay.

Check the local estate agents for house prices (ouch!).

Did you see the Montreal Formula 1 race? Won by Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes Mclaren. Woking is their HQ.... Golf courses, private schools, tennis courts, etc.

Hi.

I'm also looking to perhaps move to the Woking area in the near future (from the west of England) - I've heard from several sources that it is a very nice area, with surrounding countryside and a decent sized town centre with all amenities etc etc. With the fast train link into central London it seems a very attractive prospect.

I still need to know about the different neighbourhoods around Woking though. I've heard one opinion that Maybury and Sheerwater, to the east of the town centre, experience elevated crime rates and have a stong asian influence (mosques and temples etc). Could anyone second that? What about Horsell and Kingfield to the North and South and Knaphill to the west?

Thanks!

Robin.

IMHO its nowhere near as nice as Somerset, and at a guess house prices will be double, I'd stay where you are :-)

True true, Somerset is very nice, not knocking it at all. But have family back in Surrey and London wages and job opportunities are much better than the west country! :)

Horsell, St John's, Knaphill and Kingfield in that order IMO. Maybury has a mosque in fact it was the first one constructed in the UK so around it have gathered those that worship there. Sheerwater had a large council estate so some of the housing there is a little cheaper. If you have family in the area I'm sure they can advise you. The train service into London is amazing trains arriving every few minutes at peak times but it comes at a cost - don't expect to get a seat a good standing position is a bonus. The town itself I find rather souless and drab. I prefer the surrounding towns with a little more history. As has been pointed out housing is very expensive.

I hope that helps a little.

You'd want to be out to the south or the west of Woking ideally - in some of the smaller villages between Guildford and Woking (Worplesden is very nice) or even better (and if you are rich!) the Surrey Hills- Albury; Shere, Gomshall amongst others, out to the South East.

Train links to Woking aren't bad (especially from Guildford); but Woking is the main hub station for London so trains ARE busy at peak time. Not many of the smaller villages have stations though (Gomshall I think does), and to get to Woking you'd probably have to change trains at Guildford.

Woking itself isn't bad; but Guildford and Dorking are MUCH nicer towns to live in. I myself live in Knaphill because I can't afford anywhere else (it's VERY expensive real estate) but lived near Dorking for most of my life! Woking town centre has good amenities (esp. the Theatre) but does tend to attract the lower end of the social scale in Surrey! Hope this helps!

Hey, I live in Guildford and have been visiting Woking all my life for shopping / entertainment etc.

Woking on the whole is quite a nice town. Like it has been mentioned before, there are a fair few of the Asian community there (possibly 30-40% of Woking's population) due to the mosque.

There is a big shopping centre, theatre, cinema, big supermarket, and excellent trains to London probably every 15 mins which takes btw about 24 and 50 mins depending on which train you get.

Guildford is considered a 'nicer' town, although I'm not sure whether the crime rates for either are much different. There is a nice village inbetween called Worplesdon which has a small train station, and has much more countryside than built up areas although house prices are quite expensive.

You can get ideas of house prices from local estate agents - townends is very popular in this area, and visit southwesttrains.co.uk to find out about trains in and out of Woking. You can also visit surreyadvertiser.co.uk - this is the local newspaper site so it will give you more of an idea of things (good and bad!) that happen in these areas.

Hi All,

i am moving to the Knaphill area in a couple weeks and am hearing ver nice things about this 'town'. Seems like a nice, quiet quaint little place but you would have to drive to the surrounding area (Woking i guess) in order to get the shopping mall, entertainment-type stuff.

I'd love to hear any info on Knaphill if anyone has anything to share...thanks!

Hi dnaman,

Knaphill is known as a village rather than a town, albeit quite a large 'village' as it is getting quite well developed now. :)

Not sure where you are going to be staying in Knaphill, but if you are near Knaphill's High Street, you'll be near a few local grocery shops, restaurants / cafes / pubs, charity shops, a bank, small post office, a small local library, a local jeweller and watch shop, a household electrics place, small local DIY shop and the bus stops. (Note: The No 91 bus does a good bus route between Knaphill and Woking town centre.)

The local large supermarket in Knaphill, a bit further up from the High Street, is Sainsbury (sells most things e.g. groceries, clothes, CDs, DVDs, newspapers, books, cooking equipment, etc. ) and you can also get all your gardening / DIY stuff at Homebase, which is next to Sainsbury. There is a large car park there, if you are driving.

If you are living in Knaphill, the nearest train station is Brookwood but you are within 15 min drive of Woking station & town centre too.

By the way, Brookwood Cemetary is the local tourist attraction. :) It's pretty large and is a war memorial as well. :)

Woking is very nearby and has a pretty good cinema and theatre, good shopping for a small place (2 main shopping malls with quite a few of the high street shops), LOTS of restaurants, cafes and pubs, a daily (well Mon - Sat) market for fresh fruit & veg, large post office, several banks, several of estate agents and a big library. There is also The Lighthouse in Woking which is the local art gallery. Woking Leisure Centre has a full-size swimming pool , outdoor tennis courts, fitness classes and a gym.

Guildford is nice and bigger than Woking. Easy driving distance from Knaphill, or you can always catch the train there. Nice cobbled High Street, good for shopping, food and entertainment. Guildford lido, ice-rink and bowling alley, and there is a climbing wall nearby as well.

And, of course, London is only a short train ride away! :)

Good luck with your move! Hope you enjoy your new home in Knaphill!